paraNoia
by instant anarchy
Summary: Trent's paranoia gets the better of him, and he finds himself in an unfortunate situation with a girl named Dahlia.


A cold wind blew through the trees, causing ripples on the water, sending shivers down Trent's spine. It was a clear day, no clouds. The wind created a pale, light mist that floated through the air and across the sky as it came into contact with the very top of Trent's hair. He turned, ever so slightly, to look upon the mist. As he turned, he heard a single word: "rest".

He jumped, turning frantically.

_Oh, damn… _he thought, _I'm hearing things. Again._

He sighed, and decided it wasn't safe for him there. As he started to leave, he heard the voice again, this time louder.

"…help me…"

_Just ignore it, Trent… _he told himself. _Nothing is really there. Nothing…_

His thoughts were interrupted by the voice one last time.

"Help me! Please!"

Trent turned around. He saw nothing. So why was the voice so clear? It was high, and pleading. It sounded like a small child, likely a girl.

But he saw nothing, so he walked on. He tried desperately to block out the voice. Where was it coming from? He didn't want to know. He was paranoid, and usually pretty good at hiding it; but right now, it was being so invasive. He wished he could turn off his paranoia and never again face it. But he couldn't, so he merely tried to ignore it. Every time the girl spoke, though, it made him cringe.

"Don't ignore me! Please!" the girl wailed. She continued in near a whisper, "You can hear me, can't you?"

She waited for a response. Trent nervously turned around once more. He still saw nothing.

"Please… help me…" she said. "I know that you can hear me. I'm behind you."

Trent turned around again. Still nothing. "This isn't funny," Trent said cautiously.

"I'm not being funny, sir. I need your help," the girl pleaded once more.

"Show yourself," Trent commanded, then added softly, "please?"

"Be still," the girl said. Trent, even then, tried to move, but found he could not.

Floating above his head, then before him, was the girl. She was dressed in a white shirt with a black dress over it, her hair in braids, and her eyes bright to contrast the circles around them. The way the light was hitting the girl, her eyes appeared to glow, and every so often they flickered.

"My name is Dahlia. I need your help, because no one can see me, and I am very lost."

"No one can see you?" Trent asked. "But, I-"

"Silence," Dahlia said hollowly. Trent continued to protest, but no sound came out. "Only you can see me, Trent. Because of this, I need you to help me. I haven't rested in days, you see. I have traveled far and long, yet no one can see me. I am so glad you will help me. You will, won't you?"

Trent wanted to ask, "How do you know my name?" but no sound came out, and he found himself nodding against his will.

"Thank you very much." Dahlia's eyes flashed ever brighter. When they faded, they were as black as deep holes.

Trent inadvertently gasped. What was happening?

"Why are you looking at me like that, Trent?" Dahlia asked. Her soft, young voice was ever descending into a growl.

"I, I…" Trent started, glad to have his voice back. But even then, he could not speak. He was scared, and just as he was starting again to speak, he saw someone out of the corner of his eye.

"Trent?" He looked again, and saw it was Gwen.

"Gwen! Thank god. Help me!"

Gwen looked worriedly at Trent, then at Dahlia, behind Trent, beside him, then back at Trent. "From what?"

"There's a, a, I don't know what, she's in front of me…"

"Remember, Trent. No one can see me," Dahlia said again, this time her voice completely a growl. "You must be silenced, one way or another."

The last thing Trent saw was Dahlia approaching him, rapidly, faster, faster, until his mind descended to a blank state.

What Gwen saw was Trent's pale green eyes flicker gold, then back to green, then deep red. "Trent?" she asked, backing away. "What- what are you-"

As she spoke, Trent began to float. He had lost all control of his body. His body floated higher, and higher.

"Trent?" she screamed. Trent's head violently turned to face Gwen. He kicked her chest, and she fell to the ground. As she picked herself up, she saw Trent floating away.

Trent floated all the way to the beach. Dahlia left him there, and he fell harshly.

As Trent was reawakening, he took note of where he was. How did he get here? Where was Gwen? Where was Dahlia? His neck hurt like hell, and he felt like his arm was broken. He attempted, and failed, to pick himself up off the ground. He couldn't move his right arm, but used his left arm to brush his face, which felt dirty. There was blood on his hand when he removed it. He cried, "Help me!"

Cody found him where he lay, and helped him up. "Thank you," Trent said. He found that it was hard to walk. Cody helped him back to camp.

"What happened?" Cody asked, noting the condition Trent was in.

"I'm not sure… It was something weird, paranormal… There was this girl named Dahlia, and she had complete control over me. Then… I don't know what happened. Gwen was there. She could fill you in."

"I'll ask her, then. Do you want to go to the cabin, or…"

"I think my arm is broken."

"Then let's get you medical attention, how about?"

"Okay."

They went to where Chris was and explained the basics of the situation. He decided to let Trent go to the hospital area.

When Cody found Gwen, he asked her what happened. Her eyes were wide as she told him, "His eyes… gold… red… floating… he floated… he kicked me!" Gwen was paler than she normally was, as well. "He told me to help him… I didn't know there was anything there! I thought he was being paranoid, but I mean, I thought, I didn't know there was any danger."

Cody tried to comfort Gwen by putting his arms around her, which she accepted, though she was shaking. "What is seen cannot be unseen, Cody," she said to him, her voice higher than most times. "There's something out there."

"It's gone now, Gwen," Cody assured her, (though, under his breath, he added, "I hope.")

Trent had always wanted to hide his paranoia, but there was always a chance his paranoia could be the truth; and if that were true, he would need to make it known… before it was too late.


End file.
